Vancouver Co-op Radio’s hip-hop community celebrates during the URP Anniversary Party

By Sadie Vadnais

VANCOUVER — Vancouver hip hop is alive and well, finding a Canada-wide audience online and on the airwaves through the tireless efforts of the few who act as ambassadors of the scene. DJ Denise is one of those few, and it’s obvious how seriously she takes it. Sitting in the booth at the Co-op radio station, DJ Denice Frasier plays the latest episode of the Urban Renewal Project while updating the Instagram page, laughing when her own voice suddenly cuts in. The atmosphere is relaxed, mirroring the sound of the show itself: dope jams and excitement in the east end.

“It’s about great entertainment, community building, amazing atmosphere,” she says of the Urban Renewal Project’s anniversary party. The URP Anniversary Party has constantly been growing, is packed every year, and promises to be bigger than ever for their first time at The Fox Cabaret.

“Word of mouth has been huge this year. The artists that we’ve chosen are really exciting because they’re so rooted in the community and people have a lot of respect for them. Just going to the event there is a lot of networking, so music is created through the event itself. Last week we had two people on the show talking about how they met at the last party and that they’ve since made music together which was so great to hear.”

It’s a constant hustle to keep a show based around underground music fresh week in and week out, but DJ Denise isn’t worried. In promoting this event it has only strengthened her resolve around the future of her genre.

“You never bump into hip hop shows randomly, I’d love if a first timer who wanted to learn about hip hop came to check it, because they would totally be converted. They would want to go to every hip hop show. It’d be great if new listeners and new fans of hip hop could come hang with us.”

If you can’t make it to the anniversary party, you can still tune in to the URP on Vancouver Co-op Radio, CRFO 100.5 FM. DJ Denise plays a healthy dose of underground hip hop covering the exclusives, the classics, the rare, and the obscure from 10:00 p.m. until midnight on Tuesdays. Cop this, Vancouver.

The URP Four Year Anniversary Show is on Thursday, December 8th at Fox Cabaret. Tickets are available through their Facebook page, The URP on Vancouver Co-op Radio 100.5FM.